Preview:

• Principal's Message

• Teacher of the Year / Teacher of Promise
• Come see The Lightning Thief!
• Course Fair - Thursday, 1/22/2026
• IB Information Lunches for Sophomores
• Anderson Dual Credit Information Night
• Update on Tardy Consequences

• Tutoring Center Schedule

• Saturday School Schedule

• Upcoming Events

• Kudos!

Welcome to 2026, everybody!

I truly hope y'all had an amazing break filled with relaxation, family celebrations, great food, and, if you're anything like my family, card and board games that get competitive enough to involve corporate mediators. 

The spring semester always feels so busy, so make sure you are all prepared for a deluge of information.  I will try to insure that I don't overwhelm y'all and include only the most important info for everyone, but with STAAR EOC just around the corner, not to mention AP and IB testing, the school-based SAT, prom, and graduation, there's plenty of information to take in. 

Regardless, I know we're in for a great spring semester.  Parents and family members of seniors, I'll give the same advice I give every January to any senior who will listen: take the time to slow down and enjoy your last semester of high school. There are so many important life memories that happen in senior year, and I always think it's important to relish the great friends, experiences, and memories that happen as they get close to moving on to the next stage.

Anyway, enough of my yapping - here's the info you need!

The Teacher of the Year is a yearly award and is voted on by the entire Anderson staff.  Anyone who is nominated for Teacher of the Year must be a teacher who has been teaching for 3 or more years and nominated for their amazing pedagogical abilities, their positive influence on the campus as a whole, and their partnerships with the community, among many other qualifiers.

Kim Garcia is in her 16th year at Anderson High School, and has consistently been an amazing and positive influence to all the students in her classes.  She is an absolutely incredible, thoughtful, and funny teacher who makes a humongous difference in the lives of her students and their families. She teaches Social Communication Resources and Services (SCORES) and is a case manager to many students receiving special education services. 

She also leads our Twilight credit recovery program, and is one of our summer school and Saturday school teachers. Her efforts in the classroom, in the hallways, before and after school, and during the summer have been critical for so many students to succeed at Anderson, and we are so appreciative of everything she does.

Congratulations, Ms. Kim Garcia!

The Teacher of Promise is an award that is chosen by the administrative team.  Anyone who is nominated for Teacher of Promise must be in their very first year of teaching.  This award is given to a teacher who demonstrates promising teaching abilities as well as an eagerness to learn and develop themselves as an educator, and someone who makes a measurable positive impact on the campus as a whole in their short time here at Anderson.

Kaidance Glenn joined us this year as a brand new teacher, which is hard enough.  However, she's also joining us as a brand new head coach of our Girl's Basketball Program.  She had big shoes to fill, but she has impressed us so much.  As soon as she found out she got the job, she started reaching out to students and families to develop summer basketball programs, and, before her contract days had even started, she was here at school working on drills and developing the program.

She's a constant positive presence in the hallway, at sporting events (you have probably seen her at football, basketball, and volleyball games already), and we are just so thrilled to have her at Anderson.

Congratulations, Ms. Kaidance Glenn!

Come join the Anderson Theatre Department for a night (or afternoon!) of monsters, mayhem, and music. Our hero, Percy Jackson, has newly discovered powers he can’t control, monsters on his trail, and he is on a quest to find Zeus’s lightning bolt and prevent a war between the Greek gods. Normal is a myth when you’re a demigod. You will have four opportunities to catch the magic: 

Thursday, January 15th, 7:00 pm

Friday, January 16th, 7:00 pm

Saturday, January 17th, 2:00 pm

Saturday, January 17th, 7:00 pm

Tickets can be purchased HERE, $10 for students and $15 for adults.

Every year, as we approach the class choice sheet deadline, we hold a course fair so that students and families can come to Anderson and find out more about programs they might want to join, classes they might want to take, and other important information as they decide what to do for the 26-27 school year!  Attendees at the Course Fair can even take a tour!

This year, the course fair is Thursday, January 22, 2026. Please plan on attending to find out more about all the amazing things that Anderson has to offer!

Are you a current sophomore interested in Anderson’s International Baccalaureate program?  If so, choose one of the dates above, grab your lunch and join us at the beginning of lunch in the Library's Digital Den or Learning Lab for an information session.  There will be a lot of good information shared about the IB program and upcoming course selections for the next school year.

Tuesday, January 20th - Sign up HERE

Wednesday, January 21st - Sign up HERE

Thursday, January 22nd - Sign up HERE

Current Sophomores and Juniors: 

Are you interested in learning about Austin Community College's Dual Credit program? Course selections for the 2026-2027 school year will begin in January and we want you to learn about this amazing opportunity. Anderson students are able to get a jump start on college by earning high school and college credit at the same time through our partnership with ACC.

Mark your calendar for Tuesday, January 13, 2026 at 6:30 PM.  We will host a virtual meeting to share the details of this incredible partnership!

To join the Virtual meeting, click the link below: 

Video call link: https://meet.google.com/hqk-xtgi-ayx

Or dial: ‪(US) +1 929-324-9701‬ PIN: ‪176 752 738‬# 

Can't make it?  We will post a recording of the meeting on the website.

You may also read more about Anderson's ACC Dual Credit program HERE

Questions about ACC Dual Credit?  Contact Kim Sanchez at  kimberly.sanchez@austinisd.org

We just wanted to send a quick announcement regarding our tardy pass consequences so that it doesn't take anyone by surprise.

Last semester we felt our tardy policy was an improvement over our system last year and was a success in regards to ensuring there was an increased motivation for students getting to class on time.  

That being said, we wanted to let everyone know that we will be tightening the screws a little bit more and having more severe consequences come after fewer tardies. 

Tardy passes will be required starting next week, and we will now give a lunch detention after the fourth tardy, a half-day of ISS at the fifth tardy, and a full day of ISS for the sixth tardy.

If you're looking for a quiet place to study and receive help on academic work, you have access to free tutoring from Anderson teachers and NHS tutors TUESDAYS and THURSDAYS in the library from 4:45 to 6:00.

After tutoring, there is a late bus that will take students home. Students MUST be in the tutoring center in order to ride the late bus home. Bus stops for the late bus are listed below.

Boys basketball won with a 48-46 win over McCallum, thank you fans!  The Madhouse on Mesa was standing room only, the environment was amazing, and without a doubt helped our kids seal the victory!  Senior Miles Rickards led the Trojans in scoring with 23.  We moved to 2-0 in district play, and travel to Austin High for a non-district game tonight.

Let's not forget our Lady Trojans, who beat McCallum at McCallum, 36-14!

Camille Carrillo - Merit
Hazel Chawla - Merit
Lexie Doyle - Merit
Maddie Dy - Merit
Lena Fadhel - Excellence
Vivi Fitzgerald - Merit
Tessa Frackowiak - Merit
Lizzy Hall - Merit
Ellie Hamilton - Merit
Valeria Hernandez - Merit
Zay Herrera - Merit
Isaac Hull - Merit
Owen Johnson - Merit
Jazaa Kazi - Merit
Aaren Lloyd - Merit
Alexis McLemore - Excellence
Palmer McNelis - Excellence
Mads Rabing Noes - Honor
Noble Padden - Excellence
Anjali Pai - Merit
Katherine Shaw - Merit
Zoe Solis - Merit
Isabel Tenney - Distinction
Omar Thalji - Excellence
Will Turner - Merit
CJ von Hippel - Honor
Emmy Ward - Superior Distinction
Jane Watson - Merit
Sullivan Willyard - Merit